After Brad Holmes hinted at the possibility during his season-ending press conference, and that sentiment did not change at the NFL Combine, it was not a surprise. But the Detroit Lions have indeed traded running back David Montgomery, to the Houston Texans for offensive lineman Juice Scruggs and two draft picks.
Montgomery being dealt was about his desire to have a bigger role than the Lions can viably give him with Jahmyr Gibbs becoming one of the best running backs in the league. "Knuckles" is clearly highly-regarded by everyone in Detroit, and he carries no ill-will toward the organization as he departs.
Lions' wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had his first opportunity to comment publicly about the Montgomery trade on the latest edition when his brother Equanimeous brought it up to start the episode.
Amon-Ra St. Brown channels Lions fans with reaction to David Montgomery trade
"Selfishly I'm sick, because I love D-Mo," St. Brown said. "One of my favorite teammates. No matter what the situation was — we all knew that he wanted more carries and wanted to play more — he never made it about himself. He was always all about the team, which I know is hard sometimes. Especially in his position, he's an RB1 on 31 other teams. He's damn-near RB1 for us. But it's like, you got two really good running backs, only one running back can play ... whereas at receiver you can have two or three on the field."
"Anyways, selfishly, like I said, I'm upset, but I'm also really happy for D-Mo because I know how much he wanted to have a bigger role in an offense and I think he's going to get that in Houston."
St. Brown said he first found out about Montgomery the same way everyone else did, when he saw Adam Schefter's tweet announcing the news.
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"No way," St. Brown said, regarding his initial reaction to the trade. "I texted him right away and said, 'I love you, bro, I'm excited for you, and I'm going to call you later.' And then I went to our group chat with me and basically all of the running backs."
"So he (Montgomery) texted the group chat, 'It was a pleasure playing with you boys.' And then we all just reacted and sent sad emojis and stuff.....
Upon comparing the time stamp of Montgomery's text to the group compared to Schefter's report of the trade, St. Brown confirmed a notable tidbit.
"He let us know before everyone else even knew."
Montgomery was a key part of the Lions' leveling up in 2023 and 2024. But the reduction in his role last season pushed things toward a parting of ways, and to the chagrin of all involved he's gone.